


Mr Audi

by cryogirl



Series: Soft, sweet, stupid meet-cutes [1]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:34:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24195202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryogirl/pseuds/cryogirl
Summary: For the Good Mythical Self-Isolation Prompt: Romcom Meet-Cute
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Series: Soft, sweet, stupid meet-cutes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1758274
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38
Collections: Good Mythical Self-Isolation





	Mr Audi

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the moderators of mythicasecretsanta for organising the prompts.

Link floored the gas pedal and took a quick look in the rear-view mirror. He smirked and readjusted his sunglasses with a practised move before he set his eyes back on the road. The light of the day was already fading, casting the streets in a red and golden shimmer that blinded him if the angle was just so.

The map on his crappy sat nav told him what he needed to do, and after a glance at the glowing green line on the screen Link drifted around the next corner with a slick flick of the wrist. The car spun, and for a moment Link was flying. This was what he loved and craved so much, these seconds where he was the centre of a blurry world which revolved around him and his machine.

Link was a racing driver, and he loved it. Nothing could give him more satisfaction than the sound of his car— the howling of the engine, the rubber of the tyres against hard concrete. Every little purr seemed synchronised with his heartbeat.

Link shook his head and took a look back again. The white Lexus was still closely following him, too closely perhaps. Link had only recently made it into the top twenty, and he needed to end this race on a darn good position if he wanted to keep his rank and get the cash to replace a few much needed spare parts on his baby.

His baby was a 2005 Corvette C6 with a professional nitrous system and reinforced gears, spray-painted after his own design in matte black with yellow highlights. It had been in a pitiful state when Link had won it in a midnight race a while ago, and it had taken him a long time to gather all the original parts which were needed to restore it.

For the last month it had been on the street though, with over 400 hp and 190 mph, and it had won Link the entrance into the high circles of the illegal underworld of car racing.

This race wasn’t exactly high-class, but winning it still meant good money and circuit practise. Link took another glance at his sat nav and changed onto a lane that led into a long tunnel. There was a lot of traffic around this part of the city, and he had to navigate around trucks and family vans without losing speed. He lost sight of his pursuer in the Lexus for a while and when he rushed out into daylight again he noticed a slightly battered BMW tailing him instead.

He took the next off-ramp to the freeway. This was the part Link loved the most, when he could tease the last kilowatt out of his machine and make use of an engine that enabled him to accelerate from 0 to 70 mph in 5.2 seconds.

The road over the bridge was surprisingly empty, only a few cars scattered on the lanes. Later, Link honestly couldn’t fathom how it had happened; one moment he was enjoying his leading position and the nice view onto the river, easily pulling around the other road users. A second later he heard a grating noise and felt the whole vehicle shaking as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, struggling to regain control over his skidding car. He’d hit another car, right at the back of it, and pushed it around 180°.

“Fuck!” he yelled, watching at least three of his competitors rushing past. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuuuuck!!” Link slammed his fist into the dash.

How could he be so stupid? To make such a damn beginner’s mistake, getting into an accident without any cause, crashing into a civilian’s car?!

Link’s instinct was to get going and try to make up for the lost time, but there was something that made him stay and take a look at the other car. It was still standing on the spot where it had come to a stop; it didn’t seem seriously damaged, fortunately. A matte blue Audi A1, shimmering in the soft evening light.

Link didn’t know what had gotten into him, but he put his own car into reverse and slowly drove up to the Audi. He was only a couple of feet away when the blue car suddenly began to move, the damaged engine producing a pitiful sound.

 _What the heck_ , Link thought and started to follow the car. Why didn’t the driver confront him? The accident had been his fault. He followed the Audi, the race completely forgotten. Something was telling him that this little yuppie car was special; he felt drawn to it.

After twenty minutes of following the Audi he had enough. He went down on the accelerator and bumped into the back of the other car which came to halt. With a triumphant smile, Link steered his Corvette around it and prepared himself to finally, finally look at the driver of the blue car.

He turned his head and— saw nothing. The inside of the Audi was entirely black, and instead of a person who drove it there were only a handful of pixels.

——

Link put the controller down and rubbed his eyes. _You’re getting insane_ , he thought. He’d just spent half an hour pursuing a digital car in the hope that the driver of said car, who didn’t exist because it was a fucking video game simulation, might fall in love with him.

“I need to get out” he muttered to himself and pushed the power button on his Xbox. The TV screen flickered for a second before it went black. Link wondered when he’d been outside for the last time. Yesterday? No, it had been the day before that, he’d had the monthly meeting with his boss. Link had always thought that working from home was one of the great advantages of being an analyst, but now he almost wished he had a job which forced him to go into the real world more often.

Still embarrassed about his strange behaviour in the racing game earlier, he decided to take a shower and go to the stores. It’d do him good to get some fresh air. Link stopped in front of the bathroom mirror to take a look at himself. What he saw depressed him to a certain extent.

Floppy hair, big glasses that always seemed to have smudges on them and pale skin. A scrawny body in a nerdy graphic tee.

Link was usually confident about his personality, he was smart and he prided himself on valuing his brains over his looks, but the blue Audi incident had surprised him and left a queasy feeling in his stomach.

Maybe his desire to find someone to love was bigger than he’d thought. But who would take a nerd like him? Who would put up with his adult braces and his weird eating habits? Link was a realistic person; there was no prince for him who would come riding on his German automobile and swoop him up into his arms.

With a sigh he turned to the shower.

——

“Hey! Look where you’re going, dude!”

Link had bumped head first into something very big and very soft. He’d been in the pasta aisle, looking down on his shopping list and hadn’t noticed the other man standing in his way.

“Oh, sorry, I-” He looked up and immediately stopped talking. The most attractive guy he had ever seen was staring down at him with an amused smile.

“You have to watch your step, man” the stranger said softly and shook his head, his long hair flying around. “Delicate guy like you, could easily be broken.”

Link felt panic rising in his chest. He was terrible at talking to strangers, especially when those strangers were beautiful and called him ‘delicate’. “Um…” was all he managed to choke out.

The other man laughed. “Are you all right? Did I knock the ability to speak out of you?”

“Oh, erm, no I’m okay. Sorry again.” Link adjusted his glasses and looked at his feet. He was afraid that he might die if he looked into that face again. That beard…

“It’s fine. It’s not everyday that I get that much body contact with someone as pretty as you are.”

 _What?_ Link knew that his social skills were incredibly poor, but it almost seemed to him as if he was being hit on by the stranger. That couldn’t be, right?

“Are you flirting with me?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. Stupid.

The stranger’s smile disappeared and Link hated to see it go. “Er, kind of? I’m sorry if I’m too straightforward, I’ve been told that I’m coming on a bit strong sometimes. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Link’s heart was pounding and he noticed that he kept readjusting his glasses. He almost pinched himself to make sure this wasn’t just a very good VR video game.

“No, it’s okay! I don’t mind it, I’m just… not very used to anyone wanting to flirt with me.”

The stranger smiled again, running his fingers through his blond mane in a deliberate way that made Link suspect he was doing it in order to impress him.

“That can’t be true. Pretty guy like you.”

Okay, now Link was certain that the man was messing with him. There was no way a guy like that, with expensive jeans and a carefully styled beard, would call him pretty.

“Are you trying to make fun of me?” he asked, taking a step to the side in case the man got mean.

“What? No, no! You are pretty. Not by regular standards maybe, I mean I’d get rid of the glass bricks in your face and maybe a shirt that fits would help, but you’re definitely cute! I like nerdy types.”

“Oh.”

“But if you’re not interested, that’s okay, sorry to have bothered you.” The stranger put his hands up and took a few steps back, away from Link.

This was Link’s one shot at meeting someone. He knew he finally had to break out of his shell.

“No, I’m interested!” he called out. The stranger stopped and looked at him. “I’m interested, please stay. I’m just not good at flirting, but you’re really handsome and I think I want to get to know you. Please allow me to ask you out?”

Link hoped that this was what people said in these situations. He only really knew how dating worked from films. Apparently his words had been right though, because the other man beamed and walked back to Link.

“Great! I’m Rhett. I’d like to give you my number, but my phone’s in my car. Do you wanna go outside to get it with me?”

Link nodded eagerly and they left the store, both abandoning their shopping carts. “I’m Link, by the way” he said.

They reached the parking lot and Rhett pointed over to a car at the very end of it. “That’s my car.”

Link followed his gaze and almost started to laugh.

On the other side of the parking area —standing out between a mass of white, beige and silver cars— stood a matte blue Audi A1.

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of this is recycled from an actual racing driver AU I wrote. That fic might still be coming. :)


End file.
